Cops: Woman lied about rape attempt

Published 10:39 pm, Monday, October 5, 2009

FAIRFIELD -- A Bridgeport woman has been charged with falsely telling local police that she was the victim of an attempted rape.

Jaquasha Pitt, 19, of Pearl Harbor Street, was arrested Sept. 25 on charges of tampering with evidence, false reporting and making a false statement.

According to police Detective Jason Takacs, Pitt came to police headquarters on July 29 to report that a man tried to rape her in his Kings Highway East office. Takacs said Pitt told them that she had not changed clothes since the attempted assault. Her shirt was ripped, exposing her bra. She said there was no sexual contact because she was able to stop the man and get away. Pitt did not go to the hospital.

"Our officers conducted an extensive investigation and determined there were major flaws or discrepancies in her initial story," Takacs said.

During a follow-up interview, police said Pitt admitted that she lied about what happened and said there had been no attempted assault. Pitt told police she fabricated evidence for personal reasons.

Pitt was not an employee of the man she initially accused, but does know him, Takacs said.

"It's a very courageous act for any victim of a crime, especially rape, to come forward and tell their story," Takacs said. "It's just very, very unfortunate that this particular person chose to utilize our resources for something that was not true."

The investigation into the false claim, he said, took police away from other cases.

Pitt was released on a $2,500 bond and is scheduled to appear Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court.